McCain hires player in DeLay money laundering scheme

In 2002, Terry Nelson was the deputy chief of staff for the Republican National Committee. That same year, Sen. Tom DeLay and two of his colleagues allegedly tried to dance around a Texas law which makes it illegal for corporations to fund candidates. According to the indictment against DeLay, John Colyandro, and Jim Ellis, illegal money was laundered through the Republican National Committee via the Republican National State Elections Committee.

There is no doubt that Nelson was directly involved in the scheme, though he has not been indicted. In 2003, Nelson was named political director of Bush-Cheney ’04, Inc., and yesterday, the Washington Postreported that Nelson has been selected by Sen. John McCain to be a senior advisor to McCain’s Straight Talk America political action committee. One supposes that, with this hiring, Nelson is somehow unindictable with regard to the DeLay money laundering affair. His addition to McCain’s team “will be maximize the organization’s influence and effectiveness in the 2006 midterm elections, but his hiring also makes a major mark on the 2008 landscape.”